Gennady Golovkin, until just over a year ago, was a champion with a crown but no hope. Absolutely dominant at 160 pounds, the Kazakh could not tire of publicly challenging Saúl Álvarez to try to secure fights with millionaire bags, after spending most of his career on cards with low television numbers.
At 36 years old and with little to show for in sports, it is vital for Golovkin to rake in hefty paychecks in his latest in-ring appearances, and for that purpose, his best ally is Mexico’s Canelo Álvarez.
The nicknamed “GGG” decided to emigrate to the United States to be under the command of the experienced Mexican coach Abel Sánchez in 2012, and since then his career began to skyrocket, although the checks were not the same size as the victories.
He beat the best rivals in his division, including David Lemieux, Martin Murray and Dominic Wade, with appearances that placed him as the best fighter of the moment, but ironically that was not enough to make him a profitable fighter.
It was then that, as a direct and lethal weapon, Golovkin began to develop the hook to the liver, a favorite tool of the former Mexican champion Julio César Chávez, something that aroused a feeling of sympathy within the Aztec public.
«My fighting style was born from watching the fights of the great Julio César Chávez. I want to be like him, “Golovkin said some time ago, trying to earn the respect of the Mexican fans, the largest in the United States.
– “He is better than me” –
And he soon succeeded. From that relationship of empathy was also born the rite of going out to the ring with a charro hat and repeating ad nauseam that his boxing style was “Mexican”, being frontal and devastating to the point that only five of his 39 fights reached the distance. The last, curiously, in the draw against Canelo, which was the first equalized of his career.
I don’t think Golovkin is like me. He is better, ”was Chávez’s response to the Kazakh’s compliments.
The acceptance of the Mexicans has reached such a point that, in the first fight against Canelo, the T-Mobile Arena was divided between the two boxers, who provided one of the best fights in recent times.
Golovkin was considered a rivals crushing machine until before the first fight, where despite the controversy over the scorecards of the judges who declared the tie, the impression remained that “GGG” had lost a bit of strength in his punch.
With the subsequent cancellation of the second installment on May 5, after Canelo tested positive for an anti-doping control, Golovkin decided to accept a match in Los Angeles against Vanes Martirosyan, whom he knocked out in two rounds for a victory that did not reach dispel doubts about your current level.
Although few people in Mexico could decipher on a map where Golovkin’s hometown Karaganda is located, a majority have embraced the cause of the Kazakh, assuming that as long as he represents his roots he is worthy of being called a brother. AP